Minako, the Disciple of Altrouge
by lord Martiya
Summary: At age seven, Minako Aino, future Sailor Venus, meets Altrouge Brunestud, the Princess of the Dead Apostles. The world won't be the same anymore...
1. Business

I started thinking this back in January when, while talking with two friends of mine, I imagined a very funny scene about Minako and Gilgamesh, that I just _had_ to write. But how would I justify it? Hence this story was born. Even if it will take a while before we get there...

by lord Martiya

_**Prologue: Business**_

"Say what?!"

Seven years old Minako had been taken by surprise. With her school, she was visiting the enormous festival of one of the most prestigious schools of Kanto (and the biggest by far) when she had been approached by the biggest dog she had even seen, immediately followed by what appeared to be a transfer student from Europe, who had just presented herself as a very powerful vampire.

"I am a Dead Apostle Ancestor, a very powerful vampire. Name's Altrouge Brunestud." the vampire repeated. "And this is my dog, Primate Murder. I have a proposal for you."

"You can't be a vampire. It's day, and you aren't burning." Minako replied.

"When you become a Dead Apostle the sun just makes you sleepy, if that."

"Th-"

"-en prove it, Dog-lady. And no, I'm not reading your mind, I'm just hypnotizing you and making you forget you've already said what you said. Is this convincing enough?"

Minako nodded, convinced and unwilling to have the Dead Apostle mess with her brain again.

"Then, let's talk about business." Altrouge announced. "At the table there?"

Minako followed the vampire to the table of an ice cream shop, where the vampire and the dog served themselves with a lot of chocolate. Not exactly the most fearsome vampire, at least in looks...

"My proposal is easy: I get exactly 50 cc of your blood, divided in five batches in a month time and taken with sterilized blood donation equipment, and I'll teach you how to reach your potential for greatness." Altrouge declared.

"Not interested." Minako deadpanned.

"What?"

"I want to be an idol."

Altrouge facepalmed, grumbling something in a language that Minako did not understand.

"This will not stop you from becoming an idol, if that's what you want." Altrouge continued. "It's just that I know parts of the future, including your potential."

"You're a prophet?!"

"Somewhat... And I know one thing: one day you will bear the fate of the world, and the stronger you are when it will happen, the better will be our chances. After that, or even _during_ that, you'll be able to become an idol, if this will remain your wish. Who knows, some of my lessons could even help you becoming a better dance-" Altrouge looked at young Minako baring her left arm. "I take you accept..."

_Author note_

I have to admit I'm rather fascinated by the figure of Altrouge Brunestud, Arcueid's older sister with the ability to predict the deaths of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, some unspecified mental instability and a demonic dog created by the will of Earth itself to eradicate Humanity once the world will have enough with our shit... I just _had_ to do my take on her. And have her confront herself with Minako. Let's see how she'll be able to deal with her...


	2. V

Maybe it's a little dickish, but I can't show you all of Minako's training at Altrouge's hands. I'd reveal too much of the story. I'll show you pieces then and there.

by lord Martiya

_**01: V**_

"You left an opening."

As she was sent flying by one of Altrouge's maids, Minako reflected about how her life had changed in the six years she had been apprenticed to Altrouge. And, contrary to Minako's cynical expectations (she had a very cynical outlook hidden under her hyperactivity. On the other hand, she was not thinking when she signed the self-geas contract with Altrouge), all for the better: she was fitter than ever (and her dancing _had_ improved, thanks to quilombo-style capoeira being one of the secondary kicking courses Minako was taught), knew how to use magecraft, and, even if she had refused the place in a very prestigious school offered to her, Minako's grades had improved in everything but history (a result of Altrouge caring for the actual truth at the best she knows it and not for the rather propagandistic take Minako's school history teacher used in his lessons).

On the other hand, Altrouge was a _very_ strict teacher, bordering on sadistic. And her mood swings, caused by her being turned from normal Human to Vampire while at the start of puberty (one of the two reasons she hated Brunestud of the Crimson Moon and swore to kill him for good. Altrouge had remained silent on the other), did not improve the combat lessons if they happened at the wrong moment. Still, Altrouge wasn't truly sadistic (as a teacher, at least), she simply brought Minako near her limit to force her to surpass it.

Also, there were the visits from Altrouge's family (for all her talk of being evil and self-serving, she had managed to create an actual family) and most trusted subordinates, mainly the Back Alley Alliance (enrolled after rather strange events, even for Altrouge's standards) and the sort-of time traveller Dust of Osiris (same events, only stranger due her status as a sort-of time traveller brought here by the Reality Marble of her dead sire Night of Wallachia). Speaking of which...

"Found this around." Dust of Osiris announced after teleporting in with a white tomcat.

"So _this_ is the infamous Artemis..." Altrouge said, smiling in the most unsettling way she could manage.

"Meow..."

"Cut the crap, alien kitty. I know some of Minako's future."

"What?! She's not becoming a-!" the cat cried, only to interrupt himself as he realized he had blown his cover. "Oh, dammit..."

"Relax. Minako asked the same question when she put it together, and, as I told her, I got it from another source. Everyone, leave them alone."

Altrouge and her entourage left the room, leaving Minako and the cat alone.

"So... You're called Artemis..." Minako said, caught by surprise by the development.

"I am." the cat replied while giving Minako a visual inspection. "And you are the one I was searching for. Just a question: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"When I was seven Altrouge realized I had potential for greatness, and used the idea of becoming a better dancer to lure me into being trained in exchange for some of my blood, not bitten. I repeat, I was seven and _naive_, and had no idea what I was doing when I signed the self-geas contract."

"And what does the contract say?" Artemis asked, his voice not showing the exasperation at the new situation.

Minako produced the contract for Artemis to see, surprising him with its terms: it only talked of the training and the payment, specifying that the blood would be used only to solve Altrouge's 'housing problem' and in experiments to find a cure for the Thirst For Blood and that the training would end once Golden Liege Artemis (yes, the contract used his job title as Sailor Venus' assistant) came to take her and reveal her destiny.

"She seems awfully well-informed..." Artemis noted.

"Dust of Osiris was taken by the TATARI from an alternate future that shouldn't come to pass, and one of the students of the campus is an actual time traveller." Minako explained, before realizing one thing: "Now that I think about it, they showed up _after_ she wrote this contract...

"Well, then. What is the ability you are bringing me?"

"Weren't we talking about Altrouge's source of informations?"

"Don't think too hard about that, or you'll be driven mad. Learned it the hard way when Precur showed up..."

"The Thirteenth Dead Apostle Ancestor? Wh-"  
Minako's glare shut him up.

"Ok. I'm not at liberty to share everything yet, but you have the ability to transform in a magic-based superhero."

"Like Cutey Honey?"

"Without the cleavage window. We'll have to keep Tokyo clean from od-draining monsters while we search for the rest of the team."

Minako looked Artemis for a while, then she gave her answer: "You sure I won't get the cleavage window? That would be embarrassing..."

Artemis facepalmed.

* * *

After talking with the Boss (codename of the coordinator of the Sailor Soldiers, not even Artemis knew her identity, only her gender and that she had ties with the Mage's Association) about a change in plans, Artemis went to search for Altrouge, finding her playing _I Wanna Be The Guy_.

"So?" the Dead Apostle asked, still continuing with her video game.

"It seems you didn't do her anything bad." Artemis replied coolly.

"Of course not. Didn't she show her the contract?"

"There are loopholes, I'm sure you have identified them."

"Relax, kitty, I've just given her some basics in magecraft and martial arts and bloodied her a little. Had to wait for that, ran into Whatitsname Chaos during the first attempt..."

"You ran into Nrvnqsr Chaos?!"

"Not sure it was his name... Was the number 10. Anyway, I sent Minako back here when I realized there wasn't just the imbecile I was gunning for, and that the imbecile was probably stronger than expected. Found out later it would have been safe anyway, but I didn't want to take the risk."

"If she can't cry or smile anymore, I'll kill you."

Altrouge turned to Artemis as the game killed her character with an apple falling up, and saw he was serious. And not scared of Altrouge. Not enough to not at least try and keep his threat.

"I'm sure there's an interesting story behind this..." she commented. "I'll let you live, this time. Only, know this: Minako's a strong girl in body, heart and mind, and is a video game fanatic. _Bonne chance_."

* * *

Artemis was observing Minako at her school in Shiba, right between Shiba Park and the Tokyo Tower. A nice girl, if a little lonely. In the past days he had seen her training, falling in love at first sight a few times a day (of all her traits from her past life, why _that one_ had to survive reincarnation?!), playing at one of the surviving arcades (ironically, the very one they had a secret base under it), but had only seen her with two actual friend, a girl named Sorano Hikaru and an otaku called Amano Gurizaku, others being scared away by her not exactly refined ways, her tendence to somewhat act like a cop, and the uppercut she would unleash on anyone calling her 'Cop Chan'.

"Stalking me, Artemis?" Minako asked him.

"Just curious about you." he replied. "And a little worried: Altrouge doesn't have a good fame, and-"

"Last year she left me on the Everest with summer clothing to see if I would eat my pride and call for help. Left her surprised when I survived the day she told me to without fainting or anything." Then, noticing Artemis' horrified look, she added: "Her philosophy is 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', and always stopped before actually killing me. Can you recognize the od thieves?"

"I can..." Artemis replied, surprised at the quick change of topic.

"Good. 'Cause I think I found one."

Artemis followed Minako, who brought him to see an older male student surrounded by three girls with bands on their left arms.

"Higashi Hiro." Minako said. "Transfer student from Roppongi Junior High. Would have probably been my first love-"

"The twenty-seventh first love." Artemis corrected her, getting a glare for it.

"Would have probably been my first love if he didn't give me the creeps." she continued. "Then he found a bodyguard in a girl who had a crush on him, and another... And the third is new. Rather suspicious."

"He's a youma, and has brainwashed t- Wait!"

Minako had jumped in action and hit Higashi with a piston-kick to the neck, doubly augmented by both an advanced Reinforce spell cast by Minako and her own quirk as a Sailor Soldier, the ability to use the full potential of the human body on command and without drawbacks. The latter didn't seem much, at least until one saw a scrawny woman lifting a car to save her child, ripping her muscles from the skeleton in the process.

Even just one of the two boosts would have been enough to behead a normal human. On Higashi, a youma, the combined boosts simply sent him flying and gave him respiratory trouble, for a few moments.

"I don't know what's your proble-" Higashi started, only to get interrupted by Minako.

"My problem is that you're brainwashing innocent girls fooled by your looks!" she declared, sitting on his now unconscious guards. "Here's your choices: you surrender now, or I'll kick you into a fine paste."

Higashi's only reply was to assume a somewhat demonic form and eye her with a hungry look.

"You'll pay for making me use this antiquated trinket..." Minako warned as she pulled out the pen given to her by Artemis.

"For the nineteenth time, I didn't design it! Do you want a bracelet before transforming?!" Artemis replied.

"_**Venus Power, Make Up.**_" she chanted.

The original plan, concoted by Sailor Venus herself in her past life, was to give Minako a training pen, so that she would be able to grow stronger and train herself. Altrouge having already pre-trained Minako, Artemis and the Boss felt safe giving her the actual Transformation Pen. Not the augmented one, that one placed in a safehouse they hadn't found yet and the way to summon it and the other ones lost through reincarnation, but the original one was more than enough. In a single instant that to the schoolgirl appeared much longer, Minako's body was replaced with its slightly taller counterpart as Sailor Venus, clothed not with a school uniform but with a white leotard with orange sailor collar and skirt and blue ribbons, elbow-length gloves, heeled shoes, a red ribbon behind her head and a red domino mask on her eyes.

Her od level had changed too, fueled by the mana of the planet Venus itself and increased manyfolds... Enough that a simple clutch, not augmented in the slightest by her body quirk or any Reinforce beyond the automatic one, was enough to shatter Higashi's monstruous wrist.

"Just so you know who is about to kick you in a fine paste... I'm Sailor V." she said with a smile. Then she heard the bell announcing the end of the lunch break. "Dammit... _**Crescent Beam.**_ Artemis, could you please clean this up?"

As the self-styled Sailor V reverted to Minako's form and ran back to class, Artemis looked at the disintegrating youma corpse and chuckled. Working with Minako would be fun.

_Author note_

Let's face it: Japan's problem with its neighbouring countries comes from history teachers tending to gloss over the war atrocities committed in World War II and the population trying to forget about it or not rebuking the whackos trying to whitewash everything. Just google Unit 731 keeping in mind most Japanese people don't know about it and you'll understand why both Koreas, China and Taiwan agree that teaching of history in Japan is _bad_.

I've based my version of the events of _Tsukihime_ on both the anime (that's the version I'm truly familiar with, sorry) and Arcueid's route, only with some changes caused by Altrouge visiting that will be explored as we go on with the story. Also, the events of _Melty Blood_ took place, again altered by Altrouge's intervention (mainly _she_ was the one who took down Night of Wallachia), but those of _Melty Blood: Actress Again_ were interrupted early by Altrouge's intervention.

For storykeeping purposes, I've created my own list of Dead Apostle Ancestors, taking Type Moon's and filling the empty spaces (Dust of Osiris is the canon number 13 by the events of _Melty Blood: Actress Again_, and kept the place due her still being around (and skewering the wannabe Ortenrosse wanted to take the position), sometimes with the help of Altrouge's meddling. Full list will be provided later.

Cutey Honey is the title character of a legendary anime and manga series from Go Nagai, and what inspired the creation of _Codename: Sailor V_ and its spinoff _Sailor Moon_. Not well known in the US, but for a Japanese saying 'like Cutey Honey without the cleavage window' describes _exactly_ the Sailor Senshi in general and Sailor Venus in particular.

If you don't know the Nasuverse, 'od' is their term for the magic energy produced by the bodies of all lifeforms (mana being the same exact thing, only produced by Earth, and prana the term for both). In _Sailor Moon_ terms it would be life energy, or ki in Japanese martial arts terms, but Artemis used the term guessing that a disciple of Altrouge would recognize it faster.

_I Wanna Be The Guy_ is an infamously hard internet video game, in which you have infinite lives and will need each and everyone of them.

Roppongi is a district in Minato ward of Tokyo, part of the old Azabu ward as Azabu-Juban, famous for his night life, many embassies, and, in the past, a relatively high yakuza presence.


	3. Assassin

Found out Minako's friend Hikaru has a stated last name in the series, Sorano. Corrected it in the previous chapter. Aside that, this was a difficult chapter to write: I'm good with comedy and decent with action, but I have issues at writing normal life.

by lord Martiya

_**02: Assassin**_

"Narkissos has disappeared, probably dead. One of my youma too." Jadeite, the general of the Dark Kingdom assigned to reap Japan of life energy, announced to his leader, Queen Beryl. "Wouldn't be better if Kunzite gave me somebody competent?"

Beryl pinched her nose, wondering if it wouldn't be better to just brainwash her generals and have them work that way. At least they'd stop with that annoying rivalry of theirs... But no, if she brainwashed them they'd lose in efficiency, and they already had enough problems as it was: they had no idea on the hiding place of the Silver Crystal rather than somewhere inside or near the Greater Tokyo Area, Zoisite's reaping operations in Europe had to be stopped due the interference of the Mage's Association and the Church and that debacle with the Forest of Einnashe (seriously, how the hell was possible that a piece of the Białowieża Forest had become a Dead Apostle Ancestor?!), Kunzite's forces in the Middle East had retreated and were still recovering from that string of terrorist attacks, exaggerated reprisals, and a field testing of the so-called Mother of All Bombs that seemed to unfailingly hit their safe houses (safe bet the many intelligence services active in the area knew enough to coordinate that), and Jadeite's forces, while still active, had been depleted when the attempt to ensnare the Second Owner of the city of Fuyuki had ran afoul of a blonde pyromaniacal Counter Guardian.

That was why Zoisite's forces had been pulled from the frontlines and put to search for the Silver Crystal while Jadeite continued his job and Kunzite ran interference for both.

And now, Kunzite showed up. Pissed for the death of his youma, especially after he had brought him away from the Executor sicked on him by the head delinquent of Roppongi Junior High (rotten luck, that). And, of course, Jadeite's arrogance didn't make things easier.

As Kunzite produced his sword, an ancient weapon more similar to a Chinese _jian_ than a Middle East blade, and Jadeite put his hands in his pockets to grab whatever weapon or trick his deranged mind had created, Beryl decided she had enough, and told them to stop that very moment.

"Kunzite! You said you have a _quick_ and _efficient_ way to convert Humans into youma?" she asked.

"Yes, my Queen." he replied. "It has already worked with Fl-"

"Then find women deranged enough to volunteer and use those to run interference. Whatever took down Narkissos, it's probably still ther-"

The individual code named Kalunite, an old friend of Jadeite who had accepted to help him (she was rather surprised that Jadeite had actual friends), ran to his friend calling his actual name and gave him a copy of a newspaper.

"Found a suspect, Shiba's newest superhero." Jadeite announced. Beryl smiled. Finally a good news, and a target for one of her assassins.

Then Jadeite showed her the first page of the newspaper, with a picture of said superhero making the victory sign while posing with a foot on a group of knocked-out bank robbers. The superhero was none else than Sailor Venus.

Beryl started crying.

* * *

"Minako... Why did you do that?" Artemis asked.

"Because I could and because I wouldn't endanger people." Minako replied, matter-of-factly.

"I mean the rest. Why did you let yourself get photographed in that position? And the mocking message to the police?"

"Because they're too arrogant. And now I can teach them some humility."

Artemis wondered where did Minako's contempt for the police came from. The source of Minako's shaky relationship with her parents was obvious, they had wanted a girl following the Japanese ideal of perfection and got a love-crazy tomboy, but this...

"This could be dangerous. Minako, that youma wasn't one of their actual combatants, just a weakling sent to recover od. Now they know they're fighting Sailor Venus, and could dispatch their kil-"

Artemis was forcing to stop. Minako was going to school, and her friends Hikaru and Gurizaku had just showed up. He just hoped the killer wouldn't be too bad.

* * *

"So, have you heard of the new idol, Pandora?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah. She's good!" Minako answered. "A little too cute-"

"She got nothing on Kuroki-sama!" Gurizaku declared.

Minako and Hikaru groaned again. Since she had debuted a few days earlier, Gurizaku had no eyes for any idol but Kuroki Mio. Rather annoying.

Still, they were her friends, and Minako had been annoying herself at times. That, and, between Altrouge's lessons and Artemis' ones (with a Sailor V Game at the arcade to help. How did he get it so fast?), it had been a while since she had been able to just relax and talk with them.

The trio walked to school, discussing of various idols, the newest superhero in town and two mysterious thieves, Cutie Kenko and the one the police had nicknamed Mysterious 2098 Face (according to Hikaru's aunt, it was suggested by a mangaka who had no idea how she came up with it), with Minako hoping in a good day.

* * *

Altrouge looked at her guest... If you could have a guest that had been forcefully brought to you in chains by your retainer Svelten, that's it.

"So, you're the infamous Curry de Marche..." she stated. "The curry-obsessed dead apost-Spare it, I don't care if curry is food for gods or dogs."

"How you dare!" he cried enraged. "Insulting curry like-"

The sight of Svelten's sword, a 1805 pattern for Royal Navy officers, made Curry realize the virtue of shutting up.

"As I was saying, I don't care of curry, nor I care of you." Altrouge continued. "But Elesia Whatshersurname, now Ciel, considers you a friend, and your stated intention of overcoming the Dead Apostle Ancestors could make you an annoyance in the future." Altrouge explained. "So, I'll make you an offer: join me, and I'll make so you won't need blood anymore. You'll be free to collaborate with the Church, but will report to me anything interesting you hear, and obey my orders unless you have a _very_ good reason."

"You think you can bribe me?!"

"My newest assistant is very good at cooking curry. All Indian, Southeast Asian, and New Worlder variants."

Five minutes later, Curry de Marche was swearing fealthy to Altrouge, using a book of curry recipes in place of a Bible or another holy book. Altrouge could only think about one thing: what was wrong with this one?

* * *

Sailor Venus had first appeared in Shiba Koen Junior High. That was why she was possessing Okamoto Yuki, the home economics teacher: to verify if it had been by chance or not. Already, she had identified a number of the most probable candidates, and none was the wiser.

Under the guise of teaching, she was observing two of them: Aino Minako, sportive, strong sense of justice, and a rather infamous dislike for police officers mixed to deep respect for the police (her vessel failed to make sense of it too), and Sorano Hikaru, helpful, studious, intelligent, and raised by her aunt, a famous police officer (and one of the few respected by Aino). Which one was Sailor Venus? Which one would allow her to complete her mission? Should she just murder Aino to spare herself and her host from her horrible cooking? Seriously, she _had_ to do it on purpose... No, no murder until she confirmed her as Sailor Venus... Still, she had to at least try and stop the horror.

"Aino-san, why are you adding mayonnaise to the pie?"

"Isn't it yogurt, Okamoto-sensei?" Aino replied, with her looks and body language showing her sincerity.

She couldn't help but facepalm with her host. Poor Okamoto-sensei... Maybe a mercy kill was in order? Or was a mercy _murder_ better?

* * *

"Minako, did your cooking got _worse_?" Hikaru asked her friend as they left the economics' classroom.

"I was thinking about something else, and tried an Akane joke." Minako replied. "By the way, wasn't Okamoto-sensei strange?"

"She did seem distracted, and having less patience than usual..."

"And it's not the right time either." Gurizaku added.

The two girls looked at their friend, unsure on _how_ ask him how he knew one of their teachers' period so soon in the first year. Some day they would have to ask how he did find out all the improbable things he knew...

"Maybe she's been replaced." Hikaru said. "From what I've heard, Sailor V has fough a strange monster too..."

Minako's attention perked up .

"If she's not embarrassed by what I'll do, it's a fake." Gurizaku declared. Then he put his head in the classroom and shouted: "Oka-pi!"

Okamoto-sensei was not embarrassed. No, she laughed. Hard. Then she stopped abruptly, stood up... And fell down as a humanoid _being_ advanced from her body. But, aside from the way of its appeareance, the being did not look too threatening: it was very similar to the right hand of a super sentai series' ultimate evil, with womanly body covered by a black skintight suit with silvery decoration lines that left the face and hands uncovered, a silver domino mask, a red headband from which emerged a mass of silver tentacles, and a shorth white cape, and, before advancing, had even _summoned mooks_ with the cry "Manegin Gundan", causing the appeareance of a dozen male beings with similar but fully grey suits.

"I didn't expect to get found out so soon, little beings, nor that you'd break my cover by making me laugh at my host's embarrassment..." she (for that appeared to be the being's gender) said as she advanced on Minako and her friends. "Amano Gurizaku, I will give you the honor of knowing the name of your killer. I am Manegin, and now-Oh, come on! Can't you see this mask has lensAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Gurizaku had sprayed Manegin's eyes with pepper spray, to no effect on her lenses. Then Hikaru had used pepper spray on Manegin's _open mouth_, where the high concentration of capsaicin had a devastating effect. Coupled with Minako slamming the class' door on her face, Manegin was knocked on her ass, and temporarily neutralized in spite of her curses in the name of the Dark Kingdom. Just a few seconds to separate and run to raise the alarm, before the door exploded and the Manegin Gundan poured through it.

* * *

Manegin was incensed. Being discovered was always a danger. That it had happened so fast was bad luck, but the trio who had discovered her was unusually intelligent. But how that Amano got her to break cover... He would be drained to death for that. And not in the way a teenager wished for.

Her servants, created with the same advanced alchemy that accounted for a majority of the Dark Kingdom's youma force but sacrificing power for fast production, moved to secure the exits of the building as she personally tracked down the felon. Assuming her Manegin Gundan wouldn't bring him to her, there were twelve of th-eleven... _**Nine...**_

Manegin turned a corner... And barely dodged one of the Manegin Gundan, wielded as a club by Sailor Venus herself.

"The name of your killer is Manegin." she declared to the youma-wielding Sailor Soldier. Then she detonated it in her hand.

* * *

Sailor V was surprised. The youmas she had faced until then had gone down easily, and had failed to show anywhere near the power to hurt her. This Manegin not only had avoided a killing blow, but would have destroyed her arm had she not placed a few magical shields just in case, and she had lost _all of them_.

Before she could even start to replace them, Manegin clawed at her face. V parried the blow with her left arm and hit her foe with a cross right on the nose, blowing her through the wall and right in the front yard.

"Nice try, Manegin." she declared after showing herself on the breach. "But this won't save you from your righ-THE HELL?!"

V had to dodge two Manegin Gundan that had tried to jump on her from behind. Unable to stop, the weak youmas fled out, but were able to land on their feet without problem. Just in time to be cut down by Sailor V's crescent-shaped boomerang, thrown as the Sailor Soldier jumped down herself charging a Crescent Beam. And hitting Manegin with it square on the heart. And this one was-

"You have to be shitting me..." Sailor V whispered when she saw that her foe was still standing, albeit with a burn where the Crescent Beam had hit, and was surrounded by the surviving Manegin Gundan. Then she noticed what had just arrived. "Truly shitting me..."

"Prepare to die, Sailor Venus!" Manegin declared. Then she felt a few hits on her back, painful but not too much, and turned to see who was attacking her. "Dammit, what no-oh."

The attacker was a Self-Defense Force-issue Type 89 infantry fighting vehicle, that had shot her with its 7.62 NATO-caliber machine gun of the vehicle. The weakest of its weapons: the Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV also mounted two anti-tank missile launchers and a 35x228 mm anti-aircraft cannon capable of firing 9 shells every second. The latter was aimed at her.

Being sufficiently smart to understand her situation and not knowing how many shells she could take, Manegin teleported away, right in time to escape the cannon fire that killed her surviving helpers. In the meantime, Sailor V escaped too: she had no idea why the Self Defense Force had come so fast from Nerima, but she didn't want to get involved with them.

* * *

"So it was the _police?!_" Minako cried out bewildered as she returned home after school.

"Yes..." Hikaru replied. "One of my aunt's old colleagues from Yotsuya has just been moved here as the police superintendent for Shiba, and procured it as soon as he heard about that strange monster Sailor V fought a few days ago. No idea on how."

"And they didn't lock him away, why?" Gurizaku asked.

"He was in the Cat's Eye Arrest Squad. They're crazy, but they get results."

Minako facepalmed, wondering why the few cops she respected were crazy. Then she saw Artemis on a wall, and nodded at him. He had been right, and now she would have to deal with this Manegin at school... If she reappeared there.

_Author note_

Białowieża Forest is a large forest between Poland and Bielorus. If you wonder on which side Einnashe is... No idea. It's somewhat mobile, after all...

I had to justify the strange occurrence of Kunzite's youmas and Zoisite being active in Japan (Jadeite's turf). Choose their fates basing myself on their turfs in the manga (Far East for Jadeite, Middle East for Kunzite with a detachment dealing with Sailor V in Japan, Europe for Zoisite and America for Nephrite) and their performances in the manga and anime: Kunzite was relying only on people transformed into youma, something had to have happened to deplete his forces of disguise-competent youma (almost pity him for what I did him... _Almost_); Jadeite was the most competent, but, as explained, had Kunzite's youmas on his turf for unexplained reasons (not sure if I went overboard in justifying it); Zoisite initially showed up with four youmas, but after they got killed in battle he made use of the Seven Great Youmas _and_ Kunzite's shtick of converting people into youmas, again something has to have happened to pretty much annihilate his forces (and the Nasuverse conveniently gave me two Europe-based threats to him); and Nephrite apparently never had any problem before engaging the Sailor Soldiers.

Took the name Kalunite from one of the musicals, one of which had a Jadeite lookalike with that name working for Galaxia alongside lookalikes for Zoisite and Nephrite and the actual Kunzite and Beryl, and gave it to another character, one of the few persons capable of whitstanding my Jadeite's deranged mind for prolonged periods.

Curry de Marche is an actual Nasuverse character, a dead apostle most notable for being addicted to curry's taste (he wants to make _blood_ taste like curry!) and getting Ciel addicted too. Due his obsession for curry making him an embarrassing target and him drinking as little blood as possible, the Church lets him live, and even collaborate against other vampires.

Choose Svelten's sword as one that would go with him being a ghost ship captain. Not sure if it has any power or it's just for show...

Okamoto-sensei is a _Codename: Sailor V_ character, and the home economics teacher. She's very loved by the students... Yet I can't help but believe she's scared by Minako and her utter failure in anything girly. Also, she appears to be embarrassed by her nickname Oka-pi.

Super sentai is a Japanese franchise, that the Americans partially adapted as the _Power Rangers_ franchise.

Manegin is another musical character. Aside for her choice of disguise (she took Haruna-sensei's place in the musical, without possession), I kept her as similar to the original as possible, with what few alterations needed by her role.

Fun fact: between Camp Asaka and Camp Nerima, the Nerima Ward of Tokyo is where the Eastern Army of the Ground Self-Defense Force is headquartiered, with the specific troops in the ward including a battalion-sized infantry regiment. Always wondered why they never show up in _Ranma 1/2_ and its fanfics...


	4. The Shape of Battles to Come

Again, this chapter took me so long because there's little action. It's mostly filler and single scenes, but I'm setting up things

by lord Martiya

_**03: The Shape of Battles to Come**_

"Wait, what do you mean with that?" Danburite, deputy of Kunzite and commander of the force sent to Tokyo to run interference, asked his boss.

"Exactly what I said." Kunzite replied. "A contribute from Manegin as she recovers from her wounds for a second round. You know in which order to activate them, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. And Linlin has set the accounts we'll need."

"What?"

"The more my Dark Agency earn on its own, the less it will cost on out budget, and the more you'll have to ripristinate your forces."

* * *

"I'm sure Sailor V is involved in this!" superintendent Wakagi Toshio, head detective of the Paranormal Investigation Squad, told his boss. "She appeared just as we started investigating those mysterious cases and immediately started solving them! And now she's taking down normal criminals! She's ruining the image of the police!"

"Then why don't you bring her here?" superintendent-general Sakurada Natsuna replied. "I've created the Special Investigation Unit exactly to solve these mysterious disappearances and apparent terrorist attacks, and placed you specifically you're one of the best of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and you aren't crazy as the Anti-Cat's Eye Squad or Nogami. If you feel so humiliated, bring her in for questioning!"

As her pissed subordinate left, Sakurada locked the door of her office and then brought out her secret: a giant Sailor V poster (part of the merchandise that Artemis had started selling even before Minako asked him to, proving how ideal their partnership was), on which she started gushing immediately.

"V-Chan! Oh, my V-chan! Nobody can compete with you, I knew it!" she cried in joy, before recovering part of the dignity expected from her position. "Uh uh... One day, you'll be part of the police."

* * *

Minako started laughing herself silly during a lesson.

"Aino! What are you doing?!" the teacher asked.

"Sorry... I feel someone just said something funny." Minako apologized. "Like that I'll enter the police..."

The entire class (teacher included) started laughing. Hard.

* * *

Artemis had just finished preparing the headquarter for Minako's additional training. Because that Manegin had been powerful, but at her level Sailor Venus should have easily mopped the floor with her, had she been more efficient in using the prana coming from her world.

"_Was it really necessary to make so much space?"_ the feminine voice he called 'Boss' asked. _"And with a shooting range too?"_

"Minako's a mage, sort of." Artemis replied. "She's not exactly a researcher, but she's interested in apprehending people without harming them, and I wouldn't be surprised if she had a small workshop hidden somewhe-Wait..."

"_What's up?"_

"Why did Manegin escape? A youma of her power should have been able to survive a barrage from a 30mm and tear the vehicle open."

"_Kanemitsu Corporation__. It's a company that operates in both the magical and normal societies, and has recently won a contract to supply the Self Defense Force with spellbreaker munitions. That and she would have been vulnerable to an attack in the back, __assuming that the armour-piercing shells didn't do the trick even without being spellbreakers__."_

Artemis had stopped listening. Spellbreakers, Conceptual Weapons that ruined magecraft through various means, weren't impossible (in fact he knew how to craft them, as long as he had cat-friendly working items, and the current number 10 of the Dead Apostle Ancestors was known for having such a mace), but actually _mass producing_ them in bullet form should have been with the current knowledge of mages, especially with their prolonged refusal of the relatively advanced technologies that made large scale mass production possible at all. As soon as he had time, he'd investigate it.

Now it was time to wait. And see if the Mage's Association's publications had something useful.

* * *

Engine noise interrupted the lessons at Shiba Junior High. Looking from the window, Minako saw the source: a dozen motorbikes, their riders wearing modified versions of a school uniform, that of Roppongi Junior High.

An unknown girl in standard female uniform (well known for their long skirt, just as long as that favoured by female delinquent students in the 1980s) stepped down from a sidecar wielding a loudspeaker.

"_Narkissos! Show yourself and die like a man, or we'll be forced to cause collateral damage!"_ was her declaration.

"Who the fuck is Narkissos?" Minako wondered out loud.

"No idea, but that's the Lady Itou of Roppongi." Gurizaku said.

Everyone knew her, at least by fame. A first year student at Roppongi Junior High, who became the head on her first day after the boss harassed her and she beat him out. Accounts disagreed on what exactly she had done to him, but, given he was serving as her second alongside an unknown guy with the business suit-like uniform of Aoyama Junior High, Minako doubted she had ripped his arm from him, beat him half to death with it, ate his spleen and then ran him over with his own bike as one of the wilder rumours said.

"_Ten seconds, faker, then I'll come in to avenge Higashi-senpai, and it'll be messy!"_ the head warned again.

And Minako facepalmed.

"You have to be shitting me..." she said. Then she shouted at the window: "NARKISSOS' DEAD! COME IN ALONE AND I'LL EXPLAIN!" Then, to the teacher: "Can I go and prevent a gang battle?"

The teacher could only nod, silently praying his craziest student could actually pull it off.

* * *

Minako _jumped down the window_ (it was a testament to her antics that most of the cries came from the bikers) to reach the head faster.

Upon noticing how the boss and her gang were looking her, including the Gal-modified uniform, she decided to specify she wasn't related to the Queen of Shibuya. Then, once she got a good look at the boss, could only say one thing: "Tall... Are you really my age?" After all, Minako was taller than most _boys_ her age...

"Yes." the boss said. Then she pointed at the guy in Aoyama uniform: "Shinozaki has my confidence. If you can tell to me, you can tell to him."

Minako gave both of them a good look, and, after seeing that the newly identified Shinozaki was harmless (No magic circuit, and his only protection was a Sacramental he wore under his shirt. In contrast, the boss had magic circuits that presented the signs of regular use, and had two Sacramentals in her pockets and another on the chest under her shirt), made her question: "Your boyfriend?"

"More than that." they both replied.

"Fair enough. Come with me."

Minako led them behind the gym, where she noticed the boss had her hand in her right pocket.

"Was this Narkissos posing as Higashi Hiro?" Minako asked.

"He was." the boss replied.

Minako pointed at a burnt patch of ground.

"That's where Narkissos was when Sailor V decided she was too much in a hurry to kick _it_ in a fine paste and disintegrated it with a Crescent Beam." Minako replied. "By the way, I'm Aino Minako. You a-"

The boss casually shoved Minako out of the way without even activating her magic circuits and Reinforcing herself, produced a bottle of Holy Water from her left pocket and sprinkled the burnt patch, causing a cloud in the form of Narkissos' youma form to appear and then disintegrate.

"It died..." the boss said, before starting to cry tears of joy and rage.

"What the..." Minako wondered.

"Higashi-senpai broke Mako's heart, and as she recovered that Narkissos murdered him and started wearing his skin." Shinozaki explained. "By the way, I am Shinozaki Shinozaki. My parents weren't exactly creative..."

"And I am Kino Makoto." the boss said. "Sorry about before..."

"No big." Minako replied. "Now, Kino-san, could you explain what's the big deal?"

"I was, no, I still _am_ in love with Higashi-senpai. My friend Myuu-chan and I competed for his heart, and I lost. I was in my final year at grade school..." Kino wiped a tear, and continued. "I didn't take it well, and if it wasn't for Shinozaki I don't know what I would have done... Then I enrolled to Higashi-senpai's same school, where I found out Myuu-chan had disappeared and Higashi-senpai had become a womanizer. It didn't add, and... Well, I'm Catholic, and when I confided in a priest he consulted his superiors, who dispatched an exorcist and a team of doctors to verify if it was a possession.

"They had just started to ask him questions when Higashi-senpai became a demonic _thing_ and bragged he was actually the youma Narkissos, who had killed Higashi-senpai and replaced him. That was when Father Kotomine, the exorcist, and I ran it out of school. We were actually trying to kill the thing, but when my punch connected I sent it flying and we lost it..."

Minako found it somewhat difficult to believe, given her own kick couldn't kill Narkissos in human form, but said nothing.

"Anyway, he gave us these" Makoto showed the Medal of Saint Benedict she was wearing under her shirt, like the one Shinozaki was now showing "and this" Makoto produced a switchblade knife from her right pocket. Scratch that, it was a Black Key. Not of the 'knife or sword handle with a page of the Bible in it and a blade that appears through the Church's take on Gradation Air' used by the Church's Executors (or exorcists for lay people who didn't know the subtle difference) in their job, but an actual knife in cold-forged iron that had the same qualities of the Executors' Black Keys, not dissimilar from the one Ciel had given Minako. One that Minako realized she should carry at all times "for protection, and his phone number in the case we tracked it before he did. And when we did, we came here to kill it."

"You know, you should have called Kotomine-san."

Kino punched a hole in the gym's wall without bothering to Reinforce herself, something that Minako had to admit she couldn't do. Suddenly her claim became much more believable, especially if she had been under an adrenaline rush when she had punched the youma.

"I'm really strong and I have an holy blade, and when I use ki I become stronger." Kino explained. "I didn't want to endanger the priest, so..."

"Exorcists kill stronger monsters for a job." Minako stated. "I'm no Christian, but I know a French exorcist named Ciel, and I've seen her take on a small horde of monsters stronger than Narkissos and tear through them like a flamethrower through butter." Courtesy of the Dead Apostle Ancestor Trhvm Ortenrosse meddling with Roa's extermination.

"You kidding me?"

Minako took the Black Key from Kino and threw it in her shadow, piercing it.

"Can you move?" Minako asked.

And no, Kino couldn't move.

"This is a lesser versions of the Sacramentals they use against evil." Minako explained. "Wouldn't be too surprised to find they're sending some of their people to help Sailor V..."

* * *

As far as Mages were concerned, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was the most important branch of the Roman Catholic Church. Created in 1542 as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, it had absorbed both the public and relatively pacific inquisition (previously entrusted to the Dominican Order), the secret Assembly of the Eight Sacrament and the previously unorganized Exorcists (recently folded in the Assembly for training purposes). The Assembly was the critical part: exorcists dealt with freeing people possessed by imaginary demons and spirits, and the Executors took down hostile mages, dangerous heretics (with a different definition of 'dangerous' that didn't usually include people converting Catholics to their heresy) and powerful monsters.

Usually the Assembly was completely autonomous from the rest of the Congregation, but the current Prefect, a powerful Executor who had retired from active duty due an injury, would sometime exercise his authority on both the Assembly and the Burial Agency. As he was doing that day.

"I salute you, Your Eminence." codename Tsurugi-chan, one of the most accomplished Executors of the Church, said upon entering the office of the Prefect, ignoring both the presence of a Real Life Superheroine (he didn't remember the name, only that she was based in Cremona but tended to travel around Europe in general and to London in particular. And that her outfit gave him the creeps) radiating prana to his enhanced senses and the infamous looks of the Prefect. "How may I serve the Lord?"

"The Chur_v_h needss you in Tokyo." he replied, his German accent barely showing through the Italian language customarily used by the Church in Rome. "Ou_v_ _v_ep_v_essentative, Executo_v_ Sshakti, iss being ove_v_whelmed by both ssome sso-called demonic appa_v_itionss, youma in the local language, and a ssu_v_ge of st_v_ange posssesssionss by entitiess code-named Daimonss, alien beingss with cha_v_acte_v_issticss of both T_v_ue and Imagina_v_y Demonss, and hass assked fo_v_ ssuppo_v_t.

"You sshal _v_each Tokyo with you_v_ 'asssisstantss' and Sister Hortensia to deal with thesse posssesssionss, collabo_v_ating with the Mage'ss Asssociation'ss Enfo_v_ce_v_ assigned to the casse, misss..."

"Sailor Neptune." the superhero identified herself, making clear that Tsurugi-chan would have to work with her.

Still, he had to ask.

"Collaborating with the Mage's Association?"

"Mosst of the available data on thesse c_v_eatu_v_ess comess f_v_om thei_v_ Di_v_ecto_v_'ss own a_v_chivess." the Prefect explained, causing Kotomine Shirou to flinch at the memory of the his one encounter with the woman. Right at the start of her purge of most of the Lords for going overboard with the importance of bloodlines and a large number of academic and diplomatic blunders. He still had nightmares about what little he had seen...

"I understand." he replied. "What about these youma?"

"Minato's Second Owner and his granddaughter are on them, and the recently appeared superhero Sailor V is providing the needed pest control." Sailor Neptune explained. "She has no affiliation with the Association, as far as I know. Only that the director has reserved to herself all decisions dealing with her and a number of other individuals, on pain of her wrath, and the deputy director has recently terrorized the Assembly of Lords by making this public when Lord Alba asked for a Sealing Designation on her."

"Do you have a video? I think Sister Hortensia would really love to see it."

Sailor Neptune raised her eyebrow before producing a DVD, while the Prefect facepalmed.

* * *

Artemis was hidden behind a computer in the headquarter. From what he had heard the Hino line, Second Owners of Minato (the fourth greatest spiritual land of Japan. There was a good reason if the Tokyo Tower was at the center of so many myths), weren't too keen to dissecting strange animals due their focus on exorcism and study of True Demons and Fairies, but he wasn't stupid enough to take the risk: the Naito line, also residing in Minato, had recently acquired a fame about it, and if this Rei didn't know about his skills she couldn't tell. Why Minako had registered (without Altrouge's suggestion), he didn't know.

"This is better than my own workshop..." Rei, the granddaughter and heir of the Second Owner, declared at the end of the inspection. "By the way... I know it's personal, but regulations require me to ask how you got this place."

"I'm the Mage Killer's secret daughter, and he left it to me." Minako replied with an obvious lie.

"... Nice answer for a stupid question. Still not the most over the top one, the last heir of the Naito line mentioned something about getting her new workshop in exchange for collaborating with an alien invasion. Well, be seeing you, Minako-chan."

"Good luck with the nunnery, Rei-chan."

As soon as Hino Rei left, Artemis emerged and asked: "Why the _fuck_ did you register and show her the Headquarter?!"

"Rei-chan has enough crap in her life without adding this." Minako replied. "You should already know what happened to her mother, and because of that her father is downright scared of her and mages in general..."

In fact, Artemis knew. The long low-level conflict between the Federated Magical Associations (a group of magical associations indipendent from London's Mage's Association not dissimilar from the Sea of Astray that included Japan's two indigenous magical associations) and the Second Owners affiliated with the Clock Tower, and how it had briefly spiraled in open war before the then new deputy director Lorelei Barthomeloi stepped in and managed to start a peaceful integration, had been part of his briefing. And Hino Risa's assassination at the hand of a group of extremists opposing the integration had not been pretty.

"Ok... But how did you meet her?" Artemis asked.

"Mistook her annual lunch with her father for a kidnapping and took her away." Minako replied. "Then we had some fun 'till the sweeper hired by her father tracked us."

"He hired a _sweeper_?! Why not the police? He's a politician-"

"And the police would have had to follow the law, and would have been slower. He wanted the supposed kidnapper in his hands to enact justice personally and verify if he needed to have some mage assassinated, and had City Hunter on his speedcall..."

City Hunter. A.K.A. the man who had faced one of the biggest criminal syndicates in the world and _kicked it out of Japan_. _Twice_. And helped tearing it down when they prepared for a third attempt. The sweeper whose appearance scared half of the criminal organization of Kanto into submission, with the other half being a single mistake away from being razed by the man. And a raging pervert who'll try and seduce any beautiful woman of legal age. At least he went to him and not to the collateral damage-insensitive Umibozu or that murderess called Lareña... Better not talk about that.

"Right... Let's talk about training." Artemis said. "You have shown three weaknesses. The first is inefficiency."

"Artemis... I went right for the kill all the time." Minako replied.

"_Prana_ inefficiency. You aren't used to the sheer might you wield as Sailor Venus, and tend to waste about forty percent of it. Enough that the heat waste had partially melted the floor where you stood when you used the Crescent Beam. That we can correct with meditation and standard exercises."

Minako nodded, accepting the criticism.

"The second is that the Crescent Beam, effectively being an extremely focused magical laser, should be invisible." Artemis continued. "I blame science fiction movies depicting them as visible for you believing it should be and adding the visible part..."

"Damn." Minako summed it up.

"Yeah... It will take a lot of work. Finally, you have no idea on how to use the Crescent Beam for the maximum efficience. This explains it better than I could."

Artemis had produced the most recent copy of _Enforcer Today_, the Clock Tower's publication about combat magecraft named after their most famous military unit, and opened it to an analysis of her fight against Manegin based on what had been recorded by the school's security cameras.

"Read it. I hadn't noticed the Crescent Beam part before the article..." Artemis admitted.

The writer, a Shiva Shingetsu, had made a good analysis of the fight, praising her decisive and no-nonsense fighting technique, criticizing the prana inefficiency, deeming the "attempts at a nonsensical speech straight out from a super sentai series" as a "necessary evil to drive attention away from the existence of Magecraft", and gave suggestions on how to use laser-based combat spells basing herself on _physics_. In particular, she suggested to _pulse_ the beam to achieve piercing of the target, explaining that a continuous beam would have been obstructed by the cloud of vaporized caused by the laser hitting a target.

Minako reacted the only way she knew of: laughed at the idea of what she could do with some of the suggestions. And that was when Artemis had an idea, for publicity, meddle more with normals investigating on Sailor V, try and bait the rest of the Sailor Soldiers, and, last but not least, money.

"Minako-chan..." Artemis called out. "I was thinking... What about making a Sailor V franchise?"

* * *

On the plane bringing him to Japan, Tsurugi-chan was reading the profiles of the players in the Greater Tokyo area in general and Minato Ward (where most of the possessions took place) in particular, enjoying the calm before his 'assistants' got bored and broke it.

"Hey, Anime Hair!"

Damn.

"Yes, Tempy?" he replied, hoping it would end soon.

"Why did they send us in particular?"

"That... Is a good question. I was wondering about it myself when I found this."

Tsurugi-chan gave Tempy Sailor V's profile and waited for her to realize _why_.

"Oh, fottimi nella serratura!"

She had realized. And, to Tsurugi-chan's amazement, stood up and went to check her weapons. Maybe for once Tempy and her sister would get their act together since the start...

* * *

Chiba Mamoru's split personality was a jewel thief. A gentleman and over the top one who always gave back his loot, but still a thief, trying to find the mysterious Silver Crystal to recover his memories. And for all his over-the-topness, he was extremely competent. For example, his weapons were Projected roses and extendible cane (he had no idea how he had the knowledge to do it, or how he knew the name of that ability), and not a gun or a blade, because the roses and cane wouldn't cause the police to open fire as they'd do if he had a gun or a knife, and his favourite escape route were the roofs, but _not_ for the coolness factor, but because he knew that the police, those rare times they managed to catch him red-handed, would have a lot of trouble following him there.

That was why, as he escaped from a jewelry in Shibuya with a case full of jewels to analyze, he was silently cursing at the female officer that was keeping up with him, roof hopping while wearing _high heeled boots_. What was next, she'd throw a Batarang at him?!

"Stop, Mysterious 2098 Face!" she shouted.

"What?!" he cried as he stopped on a roof and turned to reply. "_How_ did you call mGAAAAH!"

The police woman, in standard uniform except for the boots, had used the chance to try and nail him with a flying kick. And now that he got a good look at her, he realized _who_ he was dealing with. It explained both the boots (that he suspected were weighted) and why she had been able to keep up with him. And with no apparent use of Reinforcement or any other form of magecraft. Still, at least he wasn't facing Sailor V...

As he dodged and parried her punches and kicks, the gentleman thief repeated his question: "How the fuck did you call me?!"

" Mysterious 2098 Face, it's the codename we gave you." she replied without missing a beat.

"Couldn't you choose anything less ridiculous?!"

"They say it was a drunken mangaka who invented it, and she wondered what she had drunk immediately after. Don't you like it, Mysterious 2098 Face?"

"STOP USING IT!"

"Then declare your name! Cat's Eye did it, and we never called them anything else."

"Then call me Tuxedo Kamen!" a bit stupid, but less than Mysterious 2098 Face. And he didn't have time to come up with something better.

"That's not a tuxedo, that's a full-dress tailcoat."

"Whatever."

The newly rechristened Tuxedo Kamen threw a smoke-bomb rose at the feet of the officer, using the cloud to escape.

"This was a close cal-" he started. Then a high-heeled boot thrown as a boomerang snatched the case and brought it in the cloud, and he barely dodged another. "Note to self: next time here, steal a car too, it's less dangerous."

_Author note_

Boss is a manga-only character of _Codename: Sailor V_, whose job was to hand out missions to Artemis and Minako. Its true identity, or even gender, is unknown, as Boss only communicated through Minako's Transformation Pen and the headquarter's computers. The best bet is that Boss is _not_ Luna (who lacked informations that Boss would have had).

Louvre, successor of Nrsnqsr Chaos as the 10th Dead Apostle Ancestor, is notable for two things: one, he's much weaker than the other Ancestors (he's supposed to reach said power in about 200 years); two, his vast collection of Mystic Codes and Conceptual Weapons makes him a terrifying danger even to other Ancestors, and it includes a mace that is an absolute danger to mages.

Contrary to the stereotype, Nasuverse mages at large do not _fully_ refuse technology, they just refuse _advanced_ and _complex_ technologies. For example, a _lord_ of the Mage's Association has been seen capable of receiving a phone call, meddling with an hotel's structure without interfering with the wiring or the elevators and carrying a revolver for self defence (not that he actually expected to have to use it), but completely missed one of his enemies placing radio-controlled bombs to bring down the hotel and could not understand the difference between his old Webley Mk IV (a World War II residuate using .38/200 rounds) and modern semiautomatic and automatic weapons using 9mm Parabellum rounds.

Gals (actually written _g__yaru_ with Japanese characters, but 'gals' is what they mean) are a Japanese subculture that started in the early 1990s and, in different forms, continues to this day, well known for being individualistic and apparently consumistic (most Gals know where to buy off-brand versions of fashionable accessories. Most critics don't). Loose socks and shortened skirt are among the typical modifications that Gals (like Minako would be if she was a school student in the right period) make to their school uniforms. More on Wikipedia.

In the Catholic Church's terminology, a Sacramental is a blessed object or act that carries the power of the Lord and of the faith of the Christians to excite pious disposition and ward off evil. Unlike with Sacraments, pious use of Sacramentals from non-Catholics is not only allowed but actually encouraged. Examples of Sacramentals are the Crucifix, Saint Benedict's Medal, the Sign of the Cross, the Exorcism (this one restricted to specifically trained exorcists) and, in the Nasuverse, the Black Keys used by Church envoys to skewer vampires and other enemies.

Yes, this is our future Sailor Jupiter. The bikers' gang comes from Takeuchi's initial idea, where Makoto was supposed to have one (that my Mako doesn't exactly like, but she's stuck with them as long as she's at Roppongi High), while her being a Catholic is partly because of plot convenience and partly for her apparent familiarity with Yokohama's Catholic cemetery.

Catholic procedure requires that the person that is presumed to be possessed is checked for mental or physical illnesses. In the rare case they can't explain it, the exorcist is called to verify if the person just needs spiritual help, and only then the exorcist, with the bishop's permission, will perform the ritual. The controls have been made stricter after the death of Anneliese Michel due the strain of an unnecessary exorcism.

Gradation Air, or Projection, is a basic spell in the Nasuverse that consists in making things appear out of thin air. As the World will recognizes them as abnormalities and does its best to cancel them, the things so created are of lower quality than they should and will disappear in a matter of minutes... Except that Ciel and other Executors have materialized full-powered and long-lasting Black Keys. No idea on how they do it.

In the Nasuverse, the Exorcists are a subdivision of the Executors who specializes in exorcising demons. They aren't formidable combatants like the standard Executors, but their skills in exorcising are much greater.

Yes, Ortenrosse meddled with this story's version of the events of _Tsukihime_ due Nrvnqsr Chaos noticing Altrouge's presence in town. He and Altrouge are heroes to Shiki's schoolmates, as their battle trashed the school before Roa's death, Arcueid's recovery and an Holy Scripture shell to the face caused Ortenrosse to run away.

Nasuverse demons are divided in three kinds: Primordial Demons, True Demons and Imaginary Demons. True Demons are creature born from nature who causes phenomenons similar to magecraft as a byproduct of their existance and are similar to the creatures of the Cthulhu Mythos, but are all but extinct due the rise of modern civilization. Imaginary Demons are creatures similar to demons born from imagination, and, being the responsibles of demonic possession (that corrupts the possessed one to devour their soul and change their body in something that will suit the demon), are hunted down by the Church, first by Exorcists that try and stop the possession until too late, and, if the Exorcists are late, by Executors that kill both demon and host. No data available on the Primordial Demons, except that only Arcueid and Shiki Ryougi's secret personality are stronger than them, excluding Servants.

The flashback of the first encounter between Haruka and Michiru shows that the anime had also the manga version of the Daimons, that had been phased out by the time Rei was targeted by the Death Busters. Said version of the Daimons develops inside Humans and devours their souls like an Imaginary Demon, but is decisely not one.

Cremona is an Italian city notable for three things: it's the main harbour on the northern banks of the Po river, the inhabitants are on the average rather irascible, and the city-wide obsession for violins in general (best shown by the statue of the silhouette of a violin at the easter entrance of the city) and those of the local violin maker Antonio Stradivari in particular.

Sweeper is the slang term for a particular kind of hitman that also doubles as vigilante for his neighbourhood, 'keeping the streets clean' (hence the term).

Simple physics on the working of lasers applied to the Crescent Beam. Based myself on the sites Atomic Rockets and How to Build a Laser Death Ray. I fear for her enemies when Minako learns how to use _all_ features inherent to the Crescent Beam being a laser...

Shibuya is one of the 23 Special Wards (practically cities by themselves) of Tokyo Metropolis, best known for its shopping district around Shibuya Station (the fourth busiest of Japan), the statue of Hachiko before one of the entrances of Shibuya Station, and for being _the_ major fashion centre of Japan (especially for young people), an important nightlife area and the centre of _Gyaru_ culture. It's probably the one place in the world where the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors would be able to show themselves in the open and not get a second look, as long as Ort stays small and Primate Murder is on a diet...


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